Licensed multimedia content is distributed to users electronically via an internetwork. An archive stores packaged content files wherein each packaged content file includes encrypted multimedia content and protection identification information, and wherein the encrypted multimedia content can be decrypted using a respective key corresponding to the protection identification information. A multicast server is coupled to the archive for providing multicast streams of the packaged content files to the internetwork. A web server provides announcements corresponding to the packaged content files, each announcement including multicast link information. A digital rights server stores each of the respective keys in association with the protection identification information. A user can access one of the announcements from the web server, join a corresponding one of the multicast streams to receive the protection identification information, contact the digital rights server in response to the protection identification information to obtain the respective key from the digital rights server after providing predetermined authorization information to the digital rights server, receive the encrypted multimedia content from the one multicast stream, and decrypt the encrypted multimedia content in response to the respective key.